Struggling family gets $7,000 for handwritten Obama note

DETROIT - Jennifer Cline said having President Barack Obama think enough about her family's struggles to send a handwritten letter promising "things will keep getting better" was priceless - until she was offered $7,000 for the note.

That's when the 28-year-old mother of 2- and 9-year-old boys, who has been unemployed since losing her job as a pharmacy technician in 2007, decided selling the memento to a persistent autograph collector was a way to put a dent in her family's growing pile of bills.

"I needed to do what's best for my family," she said yesterday, adding that she and her husband, Jason, 30, remain staunch Obama supporters.

They plan to use about $3,000 to pay down mounting bills, many of which are related to two forms of skin cancer Jennifer Cline has battled into remission. The remainder will be used as part of a down payment on a future home.

Cline said it took her about five minutes to write the three-page letter to Obama last year detailing how her family was faring despite job losses and her medical battles. She also detailed progress: She returned to college, her tuition was covered by a Pell Grant and her unemployment benefits were extended.

Obama's signed response on White House stationery arrived in Cline's mailbox in January and read: "Thanks for the very kind and inspiring letter. I know times are tough, but knowing there are folks out there like you and your husband give me confidence that things will keep getting better!"

But tough times remain for the couple, who married less than a year ago. Both filed separately for bankruptcy last year, her unemployment benefits expired and premiums for their private health insurance remain steep because of her pre-existing condition.

Cline said the collector contacted her in April, and each subsequent correspondence delivered a higher offer. When it reached $7,000 about a month ago, she said the answer seemed obvious.

"It was either get a job or sell the letter," said Cline, a community college student who said she has been on nearly 50 interviews since losing her job.

The couple drove to New York on Saturday to deliver the letter to the collector, who hopes it will fetch $18,000, and in return received a cashier's check for $7,000.

"My husband had to peel the letter out of my hand," Cline said. "I cried half the way there and half the way home."